Thank you for the story on Hampden Place and the teaser about Louise Peete.
I was born and raised in the 500 block of Swarthmore and had been warned numerous times that I should never go down Hampden Place because there was an “unsolved murder that took place down there” and it was a dangerous area.
I never had the time to research the story until Sue Pascoe’s article appeared.
Ms. Peete had been sentenced to state prison in 1921 for the murder of Richard Denton on June 20, 1920, and would spend the next 18 years incarcerated.
When released, Ms. Peete moved in with Margaret and Arthur Logan here in the Palisades on Hampden Place. Mrs. Logan was a social worker and had met Ms. Peete while she was in prison and felt that she was not guilty. Thus, she advocated for her early release and provided a home for her after that release.
As happens to old people, Arthur Logan deteriorated and Louise was able to have him committed to Patton State Hospital where he eventually died. However, Margaret disappeared and was later found buried under a tree on their property.
In the meantime, Louise had been busy emptying the Logan bank account. It is interesting to note that Louise Peete had a number of lovers and husbands, many of which “committed suicide” by shooting themselves with a .38 Smith & Wesson pistol.
Ms. Peete was executed in the state penitentiary on April 11, 1947 for her murder of Margaret. She is only one of four women ever executed by the California system.
(Editor’s note: When the editor worked for the Palisadian-Post, she wrote a February 14, 2008 article about Peete, titled “The Bizarre Tale of Murderer Louise Peete.” Peete’s life was then featured on a television show, Deadly Women. Peete’s four husbands, three lovers and Logan were all found dead—either through homicide or murder.)
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